Field Guides Tour Report Southern Argentina 2014 Nov 1, 2014 to Nov 18, 2014 Dave Stejskal For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. The snow-covered southern Andes behind the turquoise waters of Lago Argentino in El Clafate (Photo by participant Dominic Sherony) This year's Southern Argentina tour started off pretty soggy. Rain all day upon arrival in Buenos Aires, and then most of the following day, kept us from enjoying the birding opportunities within the city (Costanera Sur Reserve, in particular) and just to the south of the city (the Magdalena area). The resulting widespread flooding in northern Buenos Aires Province was something that I'd never seen the likes of before! We did our best to catch up with a few of the missed birds on our return to the city from the San Clemente area, but we just couldn't put the time into looking for all that we wanted to see, darn it! Despite the bad weather at the start, we still did remarkably well in the pampas. A half day of strong winds after the rains had stopped didn't help, but we were able to get out and do some birding under clear skies. We spent a lot of time in the lee of the big trees that we could find on that first morning, very happy to get the birds that we did. Then, after lunch, the winds diminished and we got down to business. We ended up having a marvelous afternoon along the highway out of town and at the beautiful Estancia El Palenque down the road. The weather was even better the following day, and we were able to enjoy most of the targets that we were searching for before we headed back into the capital. Northern Patagonia was our next stop, and we had to contend with some more wind here, which is pretty typical of the area. In Chubut, a visit to the lovely Punta Tombo area produced memorable encounters with the Magellanic Penguins breeding there, as well as prizes like Lesser Rhea, White- headed (Chubut) Steamer-Duck, Brown Skua, Band-tailed Earthcreeper, and Patagonian Canastero. On the incredible Peninsula Valdes, after a fantastic encounter with multiple Southern Right Whales with calves, this unique wild area sticking out into the cold southern Atlantic gave us dozens of Elegant Crested-Tinamous, our only Darwin's Nothuras of the trip, a migrant flock of extraordinary Tawny-throated Dotterels, the strange Patagonian Cavy or Mara, dozens of giant Southern Elephant Seals lounging on the beaches at the eastern end, distant Orcas feeding in a protected lagoon, close flyby giant- petrels -- both Northern and Southern -- riding the onshore winds, endemic Rusty-backed Monjitas, local Patagonian Yellow-Finches, and so much more. A little farther north, in southern Rio Negro Province near the small seaside town of Las Grutas, our efforts there over a couple of days produced some rarely seen birds, namely White-throated Cacholote, Sandy Gallito, Straneck's Tyrannulet, Hudson's Black-Tyrant, Black-crowned Monjita, White-banded Mockingbird, Carbonated Sierra-Finch, and Cinnamon Warbling-Finch. It was then time for a change of scenery. We left the flat pampas and coastal plains of northern Patagonia for more southern points, where the Patagonian steppe meets the towering southern Andes (El Calafate) and where dark forests of Southern Beech (Nothofagus) cloak the rugged Cordillera de Darwin above the cold waters of the Beagle Channel (Ushuaia). There was a lot to see in both places, and we did quite well. It was tough to beat that day at Los Glaciares NP with the looming backdrop of Perito Moreno Glacier! And this hike up above Ushuaia to the Le Martial Glacier was followed by a thrilling boat ride in the Beagle Channel that produced King Penguin, Black-browed Albatross, Snowy Sheathbill -- and a surprise Leopard Seal! It was a fantastic way to wind up this great tour! Thanks to all of you for joining me for the two-and-a-half weeks we spent in beautiful Southern Argentina. You were a fantastic group to travel with, Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 and I appreciate all of your camaraderie and support (especially at the end of the tour). Thanks also must be extended to our very able set of co-leaders and local guides throughout -- Germán Pugnali in Buenos Aires and in northern Patagonia, Mabel Carmona in Chubut, Martina McNamara in El Calafate, and Marcelo de Cruz in Ushuaia. Thanks to all of them! I hope to see all of you, my wonderful fellow travelers on this tour, again in another great birding locale soon! --Dave KEYS FOR THIS LIST One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant BIRDS Rheidae (Rheas) GREATER RHEA (Rhea americana) – We had several groups of these huge, flightless birds in the pampas. LESSER RHEA (DARWIN'S) (Rhea pennata pennata) – Including a couple of sightings of adult males with numerous chicks in his care in Chubut. [N] Tinamidae (Tinamous) DARWIN'S NOTHURA (Nothura darwinii) – Our driver said he had a spot for it, and sure enough, we found a pair right there on our way back! SPOTTED NOTHURA (Nothura maculosa) [*] ELEGANT CRESTED­TINAMOU (Eudromia elegans) – Loads of these, mostly in Chubut, including a chick and several unhatched eggs in n. Patagonia. The easiest tinamou to see on this tour, by far! [N] Anhimidae (Screamers) SOUTHERN SCREAMER (Chauna torquata) – Not very numerous in the pampas, but not difficult to find, either. A distant relative of the waterfowl. Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) WHITE­FACED WHISTLING­DUCK (Dendrocygna viduata) – This one is usually the most numerous whistling­duck on this tour. FULVOUS WHISTLING­DUCK (Dendrocygna bicolor) BLACK­NECKED SWAN (Cygnus melancoryphus) – Numerous great views, but my favorite was seeing a couple of tiny all­white chicks riding on the back of one of the parents at Est. Alice. Pretty cute! [N] COSCOROBA SWAN (Coscoroba coscoroba) – The chicks that we saw at the Costanera Reserve in Buenos Aires were getting pretty big, compared to how they looked at the start of the extension to Rincon del Socorro about a month earlier! [N] UPLAND GOOSE (Chloephaga picta) – Most of the male birds on the mainland (Santa Cruz Prov.) appeared to be white­chested, while birds on Tierra del Fuego appeared to have barred breasts. [N] KELP GOOSE (Chloephaga hybrida) – There were always a few pairs of these right in front of our hotel in Ushuaia. This species is much more common on the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego. ASHY­HEADED GOOSE (Chloephaga poliocephala) – On my last tour here, we had some real trouble finding this species at all on the tour (I think we had a small group in El Calafate, and that's it), but we sure found them this year without any problems in both Santa Cruz Prov. and in Tierra del Fuego. FLYING STEAMER­DUCK (Tachyeres patachonicus) – It's often a little tricky to separate this from the next species, but the bill on the male of this species is never all bright orange like the Flightless. It's always got some yellowish­green on the upper mandible and the head never appears to be as pale as the Flightless. FLIGHTLESS STEAMER­DUCK (Tachyeres pteneres) – Several pairs of this big, flightless duck at Ushuaia and in the Beagle Channel. WHITE­HEADED STEAMER­DUCK (Tachyeres leucocephalus) – There's not much that separates this one from the Flightless, except the head on the male averages whiter than the Flightless, and the ranges do appear to be allopatric. [E] CRESTED DUCK (Lophonetta specularioides) – If you're lucky enough to see this one fly in good light, that purple speculum is really eye­catching! [N] SPECTACLED DUCK (Speculanas specularis) – We got lucky and found several of these hanging out in the roadside pond in the national park. They don't nest here every year, so I always cross my fingers that we'll be able to find them somewhere! [N] RINGED TEAL (Callonetta leucophrys) – Three adult males on our first afternoon in B.A. ­ in the rain ­ was a nice start to this trip! CHILOE WIGEON (Anas sibilatrix) – Quite widespread on this tour, being found from just south of B.A. down to Tierra del Fuego. CINNAMON TEAL (Anas cyanoptera) – Just one small group in Trelew. RED SHOVELER (Anas platalea) – Not as numerous as they often are on this tour. WHITE­CHEEKED PINTAIL (Anas bahamensis) – Seeing these in beautiful late afternoon light at Est. El Palenque was a real treat! YELLOW­BILLED PINTAIL (Anas georgica) – Easy to confuse with the nominate race of Yellow­billed Teal. SILVER TEAL (Anas versicolor) – Mostly in Buenos Aires Province. YELLOW­BILLED TEAL (FLAVIROSTRIS) (Anas flavirostris flavirostris) – Perhaps a bit more numerous and widespread than the very similar Yellow­billed Pintail. ROSY­BILLED POCHARD (Netta peposaca) – Lots of stunning males on the first part of this tour. RUDDY DUCK (ANDEAN) (Oxyura jamaicensis ferruginea) – Several birds at Laguna Nimez in El Calafate. Formerly split out as a good species (Andean Duck). LAKE DUCK (Oxyura vittata) – Several in Trelew gave us some good looks. Podicipedidae (Grebes) WHITE­TUFTED GREBE (Rollandia rolland) – Very few at all this year, and only in B.A. Province. Some years, especially when there's more water Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 2 in the Costanera Reserve, we see a few hundred of these striking grebes. PIED­BILLED GREBE (Podilymbus podiceps) GREAT GREBE (Podiceps major) – A few pairs here and there, and always a wonderful bird to see well.